Otto hoffmann



0. HOFFMANN. HUMIDIFYING APPARATUS.

(No Model) Patent ed Aug. 24,- 1897.

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UNITED STATE PATENT OFFICE.

OTTO HOFFMANN, OF MANCHESTER, ENGLAND.

HUMIDIFYING APPARATUS.

. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 588,643, dated August 24, 1897.

Application filed April 4,1896- Serial No. 586,220. (No model.) Patented in England October 31, 1895, No. 20,554,- in Italy November 12, 1895, XXX, 40,155, and LXXVII, 439; in France December 6, 1895, No. 252,238,- in Austria December 6, 1895, LG/2,042,190. 5,183; in Switzerland December 10, 1895, No. 11,374; in Spain December 11, 1895, No. 18,386,- in Belgium August 8, 1896, No; 122,956, and in India February 12, 1897, No. 129.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OTTO HOFFMANN, engineer, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, residing at 46 Cresswell Grove, WVithington, Manchester, in the county of Lancaster, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to Humidifying and Spraying Apparatus and Appliances, (for which I have obtained foreign patents as follows: British Patent No. 20,554, dated October 31, 1895; Indian Patent No. 129, dated February 12,1897; Belgian Patent No. 122,956, dated August'8, 1896; Swiss Patent No.11,374, dated December 10, 1895; Austrian Patent 46 2,042, No. 5,183, dated December 6, 1895; Spanish Patent No. 18,386, dated December 11, 1895; French Patent No. 252,238, dated December 6, 1895, and Italian Patent XXX, 40,155, and LXXVII, 439, dated November 12, 1895 and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My said invention relates to apparatus and appliances for humidifyin g the air of factories and other inclosed places and for spraying and diffusing liquids for humidifying, moistening, curative, and other purposes, as is now well understood.

As constituting an apparatus for humidifying the air in factories and the like my improved apparatus would be of the following construction and as illustrated in the annexed sheet ofdrawings.

In the said drawings, Figure lois a vertical section of my improved humidifying apparatus. Fig. 2 is an enlarged section of the filter spraying device, which is marked -70 in Fig. 1; Fig. 2, a cross-section through the spindle l and wings or guides Z to be presently described. Fig. 3'is a plan view of the ring 6 at the foot of the casing in Fig. 1. Fig. 4is an enlarged sectional View of myimproved double-nozzle spraying device. Fig. 5 is a side View, partly in section, of a single-nozzle spraying device; and Fig. 6 is a ball-headed spraying-pinfor use in a single-nozzle spraying device.

vc of the aforesaid hanger-brackets 0.

the said dished tray 5. The outer circumference of the said tray 5 isformed with two annular ridges b 5 intended to arrest condensed moisture, the innerridge having gaps b to allow the arrested moisture to rundown toward the center of the dished tray. In the center of the dished tray is an outlet d to let the arrested and collected moisture drain away. At the foot of the aforesaid cylinder at I providea loose and separate'downwardlysplayed ring 6, resting upon the inclined knees The said splayed ring 6 trends outwardly and downwardly at an angle toward the u pwardlydished-bottom tray 5, but is of less diameter than the tray. The ring c has a horizontal or flatrim e at its outer circumference, and a sufficient space is left between this outer circumference of the ring e and the trayb to allow of the passage of the humidified air. The atmospheric air is drawn in at the top, humidified, and expelled at the bottom of the casing. At the foot of the cylinder a I apply an inwardly and upwardly bent flange f, which narrows the outlet from the foot of the cylinder at and forms a gutter to catch the condensed liquid trickling down the interior of the cylinder. At the foot of the gutter f, and at the points where the hanger-brackets c arelocated, I form apertures f in the foot of the gutter f, through which the trapped moisture flows down the. hanger-brackets c to the tray Z2 beneath and thence to the outflow d.

If under certain conditions of service the area of outlet of the cylinder is found too large, it may be still further reduced by means of the small supplemental flange f attached to the flange or gutter f. This supplemental flange may be of such conformation as to form practicallya continuation of the gutter f, of which it will virtually form apart.

In the center or lap of the tray 1) I place a loose curved or inclined deflecting'cone 9, having at the top a splayed funnel g, while the bottom edge resting on the tray has apertures g through which the moisture running down the tray can pass through to the outlet in the center of the tray. The deflecting-cone 9, being loose, allows the greatest facilities for cleansing. To admit of more easy access to the bottom of the apparatus, the downwardly-splayed ring a at the lower end of the cylinder at is, as already said, placed loosely on the hanger-brackets c, the soles c of the brackets, where they are riveted to the cylinder, occupying recesses 6 cut in the internal circumference of the ring 0. \Vhen it is desired to move the ring 6 out of the way, I slide the ring upward on the cylinder at until it is clear of the bracket-soles c, and then turn it slightly, so as to move the recesses c away from or out of line with the bracket-soles The ring then rests on the upper ends of the bracket-soles and is upheld thereby, as clearly shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, until it is thought fit to slide it again into position.

The hereinbefore described arrangement and construction of humidifier-casing might be used in conjunction with any suitable spraying device or appliance. I have, however, devised a specific and novel construction of spraying device, which appears and is marked 75 in Fig. 1, but is more plainly shown to an enlarged scale and in section at Fig. 2.

The said spraying device comprises, essentially, a casin g, a nozzle at the lower end of said casing, a movable strainer-cylinder in said casin g having upper and lower flanges, seats for said flanges, a pipe leading into. the casin g between the seats for the upper flange normally supplying liquid to the interior of the strainer, whereby the liquid may be forced to pass below the upper flange through the cylinder from the outside to the inside thereof, or vice versa. The salient advantage of this improved spraying device is that the nozzle or aperture 7L, through which the water is sprayed, can be more easily cleaned out from the floor than heretofore and without the operator being required to mount to the ceiling or elevation at which the humidifier is fixed or suspended (by the bridle 2') and'without removing or handling the nozzle.

To form the combined filter and spraying device, I provide an outer casing 7.;, closed at the top by a screwed lid 76, and formed at the bottom with a conical nozzle it, having a sharp edge at the delivery-outlet, which constitutes the lower and smaller end of the conical orifice. Up through the center of the case 7c there passes a spindle Z, the upper end passin g through a packed gland k in the casingcovcr 7t", while the lower end of the spindle is reduced near the foot, this reduced neck Z terminating in an enlarged rivet or pin head Z the upper inclined or conical angle or face of which is at an opposite angle to the inindicated by the arrows.

internal angle of the conical nozzle h. The said conical rivet or pin head is of such a size as to be capable of passing through the outlet-orifice at the foot of the conical nozzle 71. To preserve the spraying-head Z exactly in the center of the outlet from the nozzle, I form the spindle l at the foot with steadying wings or guides l, as shown in section at Fig. 2, which slide in the straight part above the nozzle and keep the spindle and sprayinghead always concentric with the nozzle and outlet-orifice. The spindle Z is surrounded by a spring m, confined between the collar Z on the spindle and the inner side of the screwed cover and which tends constantly to keep the spindle Z down and the sprayinghead Z just outside of the nozzle-orifice, as shown in Fig. 2, in sucha position that liquid issuing from the nozzle is diverted by the spraying-head Z and comminuted or sprayed into a thin liquid cone, such as appears in Fig. 1. A check-nut Z screwed on the upper end of the spindle l, enables the spindle and spraying-head to be adjusted to the exact posit-ion requisite for obtaining the best results. The water or other liquid is supplied to the spraying device by the pipe at and passes through the filter to the nozzle in the manner The production of this downwardly-inclined cone of spray or liquid draws in air at the top of the casing, saturates it with moisture, anddrives it out at the foot of the casing, as shown by the arrows in Fig. 1. i

The top of the spindle is connected to a cord 0 or other attachment, which passes over pulleys p p and descends to the floor from which it can be pulled. It will be observed that at the top of the filter j is a ring g, by which the ICO filter is suspended in the casing 70 and which works against two seats, one above and the other below the inlet 11. Above the ringq is a chamber into which the water-supply opens and in which the suspending-ring q can slide, which chamber is located between said seats for the ring q. Under normal conditions the foot of the filter j is closed by a disk l on the spindle Z, the lower cylindrical portion of the casingformingaseatforsaidring. Abovethe guiding-wings l lies a loose plate 0", a short distance beneath the foot of the filter. WVhen the nozzle h threatens to become choked, the cord 0 is operated and the spindle Z and spraying-head Z pulled up against the spring m, the spraying-head Z passing up through the nozzle outlet and clearing away any obstruction lodged therein. On releasing the cord 0 the spindle and spraying-head return to self-cleansing spraying device might be used alone, but in combination therewith I prefer to use the illustrated filter.

The filtering medium is contained in the inner pervious envelop j, of gauze or other material, a space being left between the outer circumference of the filter-envelop j and the interior of the outer case 70, as shown in Fig. 2. The liquid is admitted above the filter through the pipe at and enters the filter at the top. The liquid next passes outward through the pervious gauze envelopj and-down through the space to the nozzle. Now suppose it should be desired to wash out the filter by reversing the direction of the current of liquid through it without altering the direction of the feed-supply. I arrange that the filter may be lifted in the casing by the same cord which raises the spindle, so that instead of the liquid entering the-filter at the top and passing outward through the periphery it enters through the gauze periphery j and passes inward and downward through the filter. This is done by pulling on the cord 0 till the wings Z on the spindle Z lift the loose ring 1" against the bottom of the filter and so raise the filter till the ring g at the top of the filter comes against the screwed cap In this position the water has no access to the top of the filter and is obliged to find its way through the pervious envelop j to the interior of the filter, and thencethrough the hole in the bottom. Thus the current through the filter is reversed by merely altering the position of the filter. This specific arrangement of filter might be used in conjunction with the spraying device and humidifier-casing hereinbefore indicated, or it may be used in combination with any other spraying device or casing used for the indicated or for cognate purposes. For example, instead of-the inclined spraying-nozzle h and pin-head Z I might use the double nozzle spraying de ice shown at Fig. 4. In this device the two nozzles s t are connected by a hollow arm a. The water is supplied at s and is conducted by the arm a to t. The orifice at s is larger than the orifice at If, so that the two opposing streams of water are unequal and a cone of spray is produced. The nozzle 8 is formed with a countersink recess, (marked 8'.) If the nozzle 5 should be choked by any obstruction, the spraying device will not cease to act, because the nozzle s then becomes a solid spraying-head and the conical face of the countersink s throws down a cone of spray similar to the cone produced by the opposing streams.

Instead of using the double nozzle shown in Fig. 4 I might, in combination with my improved humidifier, use the sin gle-nozzle spraying device shown in Fig. 5. Here a perforated adjustable pin 12 is held opposite to the water-nozzle s and produces the desired cone.

Instead of the perforated or hollow pin 12 I might use a ball-headed pin 10, as shown in Fig. 6.

low the upper flange through the cylinder from the outside to the inside thereof, or vice versa, substantially as set forth.

2. A movable spraying device of the character described, comprising a casing, a nozzle at the lower end of said casin g, a movable strainer-cylinder in said casing having upper and lower flanges, seats for said flanges, a pipe leading into the casing between the seats for the upper flange, normally supplying liquid to the interior of said strainer, whereby the liquid may be forced to pass below the upper flange through the cylinder from the outside to the inside thereof,.or vice versa, and means for moving the strainer, substantially as set forth.

3. In a humidifying apparatus, the combination ofa casing a, aspraying device within said casing, brackets c at the lower end of said casing, the dished trayb carried by said brackets, a loose inclined ring 6 normally supported by said brackets at the lower end of the casing a, said inclined ring being provided with recesses e therein for accommodating the feet 0 of said brackets, whereby the ring 6 may be elevated above said feet and rotated slightly so as to be supported on said feet, substantially as set forth.

4. In a humidifying apparatus, the combination of a casing a, a spraying device within said casing, and a dished tray 19 carried at g the lower end of said casing, said dished tray being provided with annular trap-ridges 1), 11 at the edge thereof, and with gaps b in the inner ridge 5 substantially as set forth.

5. In a humidifying apparatus, the combination of a casing a, a spraying device in said casing, said spraying device normally spraying liquid within said casing, but adapted to be cleaned substantially as described, whereby a continuous stream will flow Vertically therefrom, and a removable central cone g supported at the lower end of the casing, and having a central opening for receiving the stream from the spraying device when the same is being cleaned, substantially as set forth.

6. In a humidifying apparatus, the combination of a casing a, a spraying device therein of the character described, a dished tray 1) at the lower end of said casing, an outlet cl in said dished tray, and a central cone g carried by said dished tray and having a funnel opening 9' therein, for the purpose mentioned, substantially as set forth.

7. In a humidifying apparatus, the combi- IIc nation of a casing" a, a spraying device theresaid ring adjacent to the dished tray, subin of the character described, a dished tray stantially as set forth. [0 I) carried at the lower end of said casing, and This specification signed and witnessed the having a discharge-opening d therein, a cen- 25th day of March,- 1896.

5 tral cone 9 supported by said dished tray and OTTO HOFFMANN.

having a funnel-opening g therein, and a Witnesses: loose inclined ringe at the lower end of the MADGE GRIFFIN,

casing and arranged with the lower end of RICHARD IBBERSON. 

